Vernon County discusses emergency management building costs and hazmat funding; counties asked to increase payments

County emergency-management staff briefed the board on the status of the proposed emergency management building and on funding for the countyb9s HAZMAT team.

Brandon, an emergency-management staff member, said plans have been submitted to the Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) and he expected plan review comments by the end of the month. Staff described a building footprint of roughly 5,000 square feet. Brandon and others gave ballpark cost estimates based on recent county shed work and contractor input: a combination of contractor labor and county highway labor could average about $72b1$80 per square foot for some portions of the work; if more contractor work is required the total could rise, and multiple speakers noted a likely cost range between $400,000 and $600,000 depending on bidding approach, contractor overhead and whether the county acts as general contractor.

Board members discussed delivery options: piecemeal self-performed work by highway staff with contractor packages to fill gaps would reduce contractor markup but could complicate scheduling; hiring a general contractor could add 30b170% overhead but simplify coordination. Several members emphasized that work begun should proceed to completion because partial completion can create code or inspection problems; staff recalled a one-year start-to-complete expectation tied to permits once construction begins.

On HAZMAT operations and inter-county funding, Brandon said the county's HAZMAT team has 28 members and is a state-designated asset team. He reported that three cooperating counties currently contribute $2,500 per year each under the hazmat agreement; staff said that rate has not been updated in roughly 20 years and is likely too low to cover training, payroll reimbursements, workers' compensation and equipment replacement. Brandon said state grant funding provides about $16,000 per year for training and partial payroll coverage and that other team costs and equipment are covered by reimbursements from incident responses and by team funds and grants; there is currently no tax levy for HAZMAT equipment replacement.

Board members directed staff to gather comparables and to discuss raising the inter-county contribution (staff suggested collecting comparables and beginning county conversations to allow the other counties to budget an increase for a 2026 contract year). Brandon said the local emergency planning committee will review rate comparables and bring a recommendation; several members said a meaningful increase (in discussion, $15,000 per county was referenced as an example of a more realistic contribution) would still likely be less than counties would pay to build their own teams.

Ending: Staff will return with DSPS plan-review status and more refined cost estimates and will prepare comparables for HAZMAT inter-county contributions for board review in coming months.